This (Green)land is your (Ice)land
This fact might feel a little directionally challenged.
Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. Today’s fact is one of those geographical marvels.
Greenland is farther north, south, west, and east than Iceland.
Greenland has been in the news quite a bit lately. The U.S. government is trying to overtake the nation, which operates semi-autonomously but is under Danish rule.
A CNN poll asked Americans what they thought about this proposed takeover and found that most of the country is opposed to it. In fact, only one in four respondents said they support it.
That’s a somewhat encouraging result, since America does not need to be taking over Greenland. Of course, public sentiment does not always get reflected in administrative actions, so we’ll see how that shakes out.
Last year, I visited Denmark for the first time. It is a lovely country and the people there were very charming and friendly. It’s also the home of the LEGO House, which is one of the coolest attractions I’ve ever gotten to check out. Where else can you find towering dinosaurs made of LEGO, get to design your own LEGO fish, and create a stop-motion film featuring LEGO characters?
Nowhere, that’s where else. The LEGO House in Billund is the only one in the world.
Denmark is also home to both the oldest and second-oldest amusement parks on Earth. How charming!
I have not yet made it to Greenland in my travels, but I did swing by its neighbor, Iceland. Alas, I did not see the aurora borealis in its full glory, though Iceland was still a wonderful trip. My visit coincided with me breaking my foot a week before flying out there. I would recommend visiting Iceland, but I would also suggest you keep your bones intact if at all possible. Climbing mountains is kind of hard in a boot.
In terms of population, Iceland has about 400,000 people, and Greenland has around 56,000 (perhaps a bit more, depending on what estimate you look at). Either way, Iceland is nearly seven times more populous than Greenland.
Yet as far as actual area goes, Greenland is far more enormous. It’s about 836,300 square miles. Iceland is 39,769 square miles. And Denmark is even smaller, clocking in at 16,384 miles.
Because Greenland is so expansive, and because longitudes and latitudes start getting extra silly the closer you get to either of the poles, it winds up being north, south, east, AND west of Iceland, despite the two being neighbors, geographically.
Thanks to Reddit user etymologynerd for the fancy map and lines here.
Growing up, I remember hearing how the two countries should have switched their names, because Iceland is more green and Greenland has more ice. Not everything can be named as accurately as a toothpick, I suppose.
A bonus fun fact: Greenland also has spots that wind up being west of New York and east of Mauritania in Africa. Turns out it’s pretty darn big!
Whether your favorite color is green (like a nice kelly green) or something else, take a moment to admire the wacky geography of the world. And if you’re more into geology, this book on Greenland might be right up your alley.